The latest trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 featured a reference to one of Thanos' devious past acts.
While the Mad Titan is no longer at large, his impact is still being felt throughout the MCU, and particularly with the Guardians.
After all, Gamora and Nebula were both raised by Thanos, and Peter Quill is still grieving the loss of his Gamora at Thanos' hands.
While the Guardians of the Galaxy are set to confront a new antagonist in Vol. 3, marketing for the anticipated threequel proves that the Titan may be gone but not forgotten.
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Trailer Name-drops Thanos
In the latest Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 trailer, Nebula recalls how Thanos replaced her eyes.
When Peter Quill notes how black her eyes are, Nebula explains that "they were replaced by my father as a method of torture."
In the past, Nebula has talked about Thanos replacing pieces of her with cybernetics as punishment for losing a fight.
Audiences also saw a glimpse of his tortuous treatment of her on-screen in Avengers: Infinity War.
Are Thanos References Inevitable?
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 may be both a new and final chapter for this cosmic family; but for some members of the team, their conflicts and character arcs stem from Thanos' past acts.
Therefore, it's safe to say that Nebula's tale about how she got her eyes won't be the threequel's only Thanos reference.
In fact, the new trailer also includes a Star-Lord voiceover where he notes that Gamora died and came back.
But even though he didn't refer to Thanos by name, Gamora's death and how she returned are both due to Thanos.
It will be interesting to see how the Guardians' past and present collide when Vol. 3 arrives in theaters in May.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 debuts on Friday, May 5.
